The defence will be held online via Teams and in room 141: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MTdlZTMyMDEtMjg5NC00YzZhLWExNWUtOTU4OTg4YzI5MzZl%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22be62a12b-2cad-49a1-a5fa-85f4f3156a7d%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22dfbebf32-99ae-4022-a68f-422f93e11c7f%22%7d
The objective of this thesis was to evaluate the effects of chromium propionate supplementation in late gestation beef cows on cow-calf performance and offspring skeletal muscle and development. 100 late gestation Angus-Simmental cross beef cows were randomly assigned to either a basal diet (n = 50), or basal diet with 0.04% chromium propionate (n = 50). Cow performance was monitored until partition, and calf skeletal muscle biopsies were collected within 2-10 days postnatal to assess gene expression and protein expression related to adipogenesis and glucose metabolism. Overall, supplementation of chromium propionate during late gestation modified dam energy, although effects dependent on fetal calf sex. Chromium propionate supplementation upregulated protein IRS1 abundance, and mRNA expression of both energy metabolism and fibroadipogenic markers IRS1, GLUT4, PDGFRα, PPARγ, ZFP423, and DLK1. Thus, chromium propionate supplementation may support skeletal muscle programming in the offspring, increasing potential for intramuscular fat development.
